Cable operated earth moving scraper



Dec. 16, 1958 R. c. H. RUSSELL 2,864,182

CABLE OPERATED EARTH MOVING SCRAPER Filed Nov. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. O ll m J HGZ w: I... IHHH" /8 /9 IO L I III i I I (I i 4 9 7 Inventor ROBERT C. H. RUSSELL W Attorneys Dec. 16, 1958 R. c. H. RUSSELL 2,864,132

CABLE OPERATED EARTH MOVING SCRAPER Filed Nov. 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G 4. F/G3. 34

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Inventor ROBERT C. H. RUSSELL y 1 Aftorneys United States Patent "CABLE OPERATED EARTH MOVING SCRAPER Robert Christopher Hamlyn Russell, Wallingford, England Application November 21, 1955, Serial No. 548,184

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 25, 1954 3 Claims. (Cl. 37-125) This invention relates to earth moving scrapers and is particularly concerned with a machine of this kind whichis capable of being used on sites or under conditions where a tractor drawing a known type of scraper would have difficulty in forcing the cutting blade through the ground owing to the stiffness of the soil or the slipperiness of its surface.

The improved machine of this invention comprises a chassis mounted on tracks, wheels, rollers or the like and which is adapted to be drawn over the ground by means of a cable hauled by a winding engine, a scraper bowl mounted on the chassis and pivotable about a horizontal transverse axis between a position where the edge of the bowl extends below the surface level of the ground and acts as a scraper, and a position where the bowl is inverted so as to dump earth accumulated therein, and a grader blade fixed to and extending transversely of the chassis adapted to spread earth dumped from the bowl as the machine is moved. In such an arrangement the force which may-be applied 'by' the cutting edge of the scraper to the ground is limited only by the power of the winding engine and the strength of the cable, and accordingly the arrangement may be used in many conditions where it would be impossible to use a tractor-drawn scraper.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood one form thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation and Figure 2 is a plan of an earth moving scraper according to the invention; and

Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate diagrammatically various ways in which the scraper of Figures 1 and 2 may be drawn over the surface of the ground by means of stationary winding engines.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the earth moving scraper there shown comprises a bowl 1 which is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis so that it can be rotated counterclockwise from the one extreme position shown in full lines in which it is capable of carrying a load of earth or other material as the scraper is moved, to one extreme position in which the bowl is inverted so that a load carried therein is dumped on to the ground and can be rotated clockwise to another extreme position in which the edge 2 of the bowl is in position to engage the ground.

The distance of the edge 2 of the bowl 1 from the pivotal axis thereof is greater than the height of this axis above ground level so that when the bowl is in its extreme clockwise position the edge will penetrate below the surface of the ground as the scraper is drawn forward, that is to the right in Figs. 1 and 2. The radial distance from the axis to the bottom of other parts of the bowl is, however, less than the height of the axis from the ground so that in all other positions of the bowl it hangs clear of the ground.

If desired, the cutting edge of the bowl may be made narrower than the full width of the bowl between its mountings so as to reduce the total load on the cable and machinery when the edge is cutting through hard ground.

Behind the bowl 1 a blade 3 is fixed on the chassis 4 of the scraper, the blade extending in a more or less vertical plane transversely across the scraper and operating to spread earth which is tipped in front of it when the bowl is inverted and the scraper is drawn forwards. If desired, means may be provided for adjusting the distance of the lower edge of the blade 3 from the surface of the ground.

The chassis 4 is supported on rollers 20 and 21 although large wheels or endless tracks may, if desired, be used instead.

The chassis supports a shaft 6 on which are mounted a smaller drum 7 and a larger drum 8. On the smaller drum is wound a cable 9 the free end of which is attached to a part of the bowl. A further cable 10 is wound on the larger drum 8. and extends therefrom to a winding engine (not shown), the arrangement being such that if the cable 10 is hauled in by the engine, the shaft 6 will be rotated and the cable 9 wound on its drum 7, whereby the bowl is rotated towards its inverted position. Alternatively, if the cable 10 is paid out from the winding engine, the bowl, being suitably counterbalanced by a weight 22, will return towards its scraping position and the cable 10 will be wound on to the drum 8. Stops 24 and 25 are suitably fixed to the chassis to limit by engagement with the step 23 on the bowl the maximum movement of the bowl in each direction.

The scraper is moved over the ground in opposite directions by means of the cables 18 and 19 which are attached to opposite ends of the chassis 4 and extend for example to respective winding engines, not shown.

: e r per: s a edii ;Figur s. 1: and .2. is partic r 1 larly suitable for use in dredging rivers, lakes and the like because it is supported on the rollers 20, 21 instead of wheels. Where a scraper mounted on wheels is used under water it has been found that the contents of the bowl are normally washed out as the scraper is moved. If a roller is used which extends over the width of the bowl, it acts to shield the bowl and it is found in practice that this substantially prevents the contents being washed out.

Figures 3, 4 and 5 illustrate various methods of operating the scraper of this invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the scraper 26 is drawn by cables 27 and 28 which extend in opposite directions to stationary winding engines 29 and 30 respectively, while the cable it) controls the position of the bowl and extends to a separately controllable winding drum on the winding engine 29.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative arrangement which uses one winding engine 31 which is provided with four separately controllable winding drums. In this case a cable 32 extends directly to the scraper 26 from one drum of the winding engine, while a cable 33 extends from another drum to the scraper via an anchored pulley 34 and a further cable 35 extends from yet another drum to the scraper via a further anchored pulley 36. As before, a further cable 10 is provided for controlling the position of the bowl. The two pulleys are anchored behin'd the scraper and may be separated by an appreciable distance. By adjusting the pull exerted by the cables 33 and 35 the path over which the scraper moves may be controlled and in this manner an area may be treated which is substantially equal to that of the triangle defined by the two pulleys and the winding engine.

A still further arrangement is illustrated in Figure 5. In this case two winding engines 37 and 38 are used while the cable 39 from the engine 38 is taken round a pulley 40 which is mounted on a cable 41 extending between fixed anchorages 42 and 43. By adjustment of the po s3 sition of the pulley 40 on the cable 41 and by adjusting the separation of the winding engines 37 and 38, the path of the scraper 26 may be controlled.

The methods of operation described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 are particularly suitable for use when the scraper is to be used for dredging a river.

Although the winding engine has been described as stationary, it will be appreciated that although the engine may be stationary during the operation of the scraper it may nevertheless be mobile in the sense that it is movable from place to place. If desired such an engine may be arranged to run on a track and it is contemplated that in some cases the movement of the scraper may be effected by the motion of the engine on such a track.

What I claim is:

1. An earth moving scraper comprising a chassis, a pair of rollers on which said chassis is supported for movement over the surface of the ground,'a hauling cable attached to said scraper, a stationary winding engine to which'said cable is attached'for drawing said scraper over the ground, a bowl mounted on said chassis for pivotable movement about a transverse axis positioned between the axes of said rollers, said bowl having a cutting edge which in one position of the bowl extends below the surface level of the ground, means for biasing said bowl towards said one position, and means for moving said bowl including a shaft mounted in bearings on said chassis and extending transversely thereof, a first drum on said shaft, 8. first cable wound on said drum and having a free end connected with said bowl, a second drum on said shaft, and a second cable wound thereon and having a free end extending to the said winding engine.

2. An earth moving scraper comprising a chassis, rollers on which said chassis is supported for movement over the surface of the ground, a bowl mounted on said chassis for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis to any one of three positions, namely a position in which an edge of said bowl engages the surface of the ground and acts as a scraper, a position in which said bowl acts as a receptacle to carry a load of material, and a position inwhich said bowl is inverted to dump a load, the said bowl in said last two mentioned positions being held out of contact with the ground, a counterweight for biasing said bowl towards said first-mentioned position, means for moving said bowl away from said first-mentioned position including a shaft mounted in bearings on said chassis and extending transversely thereof, a first drum on said shaft, a first cable wound on said drum and having a free end connected with said bowl, a second drum on said shaft, a second cable wound thereon and having a free end extending to a winding engine, and a grader blade extending transversely across said chassis and adapted to spread material dumped from the bowl.

3. An earth moving scraper comprising a chassis, a pair of rollers on which said chassis is supported for movement over the surface of the ground, a bowl having a cutting edge and mounted on said chassis for pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis positioned between the axes of said rollers, means acting on said bowl for biasing said bowl into a first position in which said cutting edge engages the surface of the ground, and means on said chassis and operable from a remote point for rotating said bowl to a second position in which said bowl is positioned to carry a load and a third position in which said bowl is inverted to dump the load, said bowl in said second and third positions being held out of contact with the surface of the ground by said means for rotating said bowl.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 576,422 Austin Feb. 2, 1897 668,983 Covel Feb. 26, 1901 831,087v Munson Sept. 18, 1906 1,034,501 Peterson Aug. 6, 1912 1,826,620 Lillard Oct. 6, 1931 2,013,276 Luce Sept. 3, 1935 2,483,033 Baker Sept. 27, 1949 

